Shaun Bradley Balaam: Geraldton court told of man’s ‘panic and confusion’ in baby corpse in freezer case

A Geraldton man who put a baby’s plastic-wrapped corpse into a backyard freezer claims to have done so in a state of “panic and confusion”, with a court told this was the third pregnancy his partner had concealed from him. Details of “one of the saddest” cases a magistrate has had to deal with were aired in a Geraldton courtroom last week during the sentencing of Shaun Bradley Balaam. Balaam, 35, pleaded guilty in August to without lawful excuse improperly interfered with a corpse. According to police, in August 2022 Balaam’s partner of 14 years Monique Ellen Burton gave birth to a boy on the bathroom floor before wrapping him in a plastic bag and hiding him behind the couch. Police are unsure if the baby was born alive, but have previously alleged there was no evidence the baby had been killed. Later, police say, Burton went to Geraldton Health Campus, where she denied giving birth, despite showing signs of recent childbirth. While in hospital, Balaam found the bag with the baby inside, and placed it in another bag before putting it in the family’s chest freezer. The court was told Balaam denied any knowledge of Burton giving birth at the house when called by King Edward Memorial Hospital, where Burton had been flown to for treatment. Police said Ms Burton eventually came forward, with police finding the bag in the freezer. Balaam’s defence lawyer George Giudice told the Geraldton Magistrates Court his client made “a very poor decision in a stressful situation”. He also said this was not the first time Burton had concealed a pregnancy from Balaam, with this instance being the third time. The couple are no longer together and Balaam is the full-time parent of three of their children. On the night in question, Mr Giudice said his client found Burton weak, vomiting and pale, and she said she went to hospital that night to have her stomach drained. The court was told she previously alleged having a condition which required her to have her stomach pumped. Balaam claimed when he found the bin bag, he thought it was rubbish but it crossed his mind that it could have been a baby. He had noticed Burton had been scratching her fingers in the period leading up to the incident, which had been a previous sign that she was pregnant. Some time later, on August 25, Balaam confronted Burton about the bag, urging her to come forward, which she did. When police arrived at their property to check the freezer, he was asked why authorities or a doctor were not called, with Balaam saying he “didn’t know what the f. . . to do”. It was at this point where Magistrate Kelly Thompson probed the story, saying Balaam must have had some suspicion of what was inside the bag given he put it in the freezer. Mr Giudice told the court that Balaam felt something heavy in the bag, and something “like a tail”, thinking it could have been a baby given his partner’s alleged history. Submissions made in Balaam’s favour included him maintaining a good relationship with the mother of his children, and his willingness to get back to work. Neither the defence, nor the prosecution were able to provide any precedent, with the maximum penalty for the offence carrying a 12-month jail sentence and a fine of $12,000. According to police, this charge has only ever been prosecuted one other time in WA but the facts were completely different. Ms Thompson told the court the case was “one of the saddest” she’d had to deal with, accepting that Balaam’s interference likely came after the baby was already dead. However, she said Balaam “turned a blind eye to what was in the bag” and put it in the freezer, which was ultimately why he faced court. Ms Thompson said Balaam had no prior history before the courts, and character references spoke highly of him as a good father. She did not believe the incident warranted the six-month and one day minimum jail term, ruling instead that a 12-month community-based order was appropriate. Ms Thompson said the order would include counselling and supervision, believing it would help Balaam. Burton last month pleaded guilty to interfering with a corpse with intent to prevent or prejudice an investigation into circumstances surrounding death and is due to be sentenced on March 12 next year.